The Saitama prefectural police, in collaboration with NTT East Corp., have successfully tested an AI-based telephone fraud detection system in Iruma, Saitama Prefecture. This innovative technology aims to combat fraudulent activities by promptly notifying victims' family members and neighbors whenever suspicious calls are identified. During a demonstration on July 27 th , a 74-year-old man received a call from an individual claiming to be his son, urgently requesting $34,000 for medical expenses following an accident. Through an AI-equipped device connected to the man's landline, the call was swiftly flagged as fraudulent based on the caller's message. T he system then automatically dialed registered contact numbers of family members, neighbors, and banks, issuing warnings about the detected fraudulent call. The trial, which took place from July 25 th to 28 th , involved the installation of devices on the landlines of eight households within the city. In one instance,...

Major mobile network provider, Softbank Corp., is making significant strides towards developing its own generative artificial intelligence platform to cater to corporate clients. To facilitate this endeavor, the company has allocated approximately 20 billion Yen ($143 million) to invest in a supercomputer that plays a pivotal role in processing the vast amount of information required by a generative AI platform. This supercomputer will leverage microchips provided by the reputable U.S.-based company Nvidia Corp., renowned for manufacturing high-performance semiconductors widely used in various generative AI programs. Consequently, this collaboration is expected to equip the supercomputer with Japan's highest level of information processing capabilities. Softbank has already incorporated generative AI into its call centers to enhance customer support services. The company now seeks to capitalize on this technology by offering other businesses AI services with unparalleled accura...

A Tokyo-based toy company has introduced an innovative AI device called the "coemo" storytelling speaker, which goes beyond being a mere toy and is capable of evoking emotions from its users. The coemo is one of the latest AI products that can learn and replicate human voices and thoughts, allowing family members or friends to interact with a representation of their deceased loved ones. Tomy Co., the company behind the coemo, released this speaker last year, and it has garnered significant attention for its unique capabilities. By using the coemo, individuals can listen to children's stories spoken in the exact voice of their family members or friends. To achieve this, users need to teach the coemo their loved one's voice by utilizing an accompanying app. Through the app, the person must read out sample sentences, such as "The bill is $350 per person," for approximately 15 minutes. This process enables the coemo to reproduce the characteristics of their lo...

From the mesmerizing sway of her hair to the subtle blinking of her eyes, the girl on the screen looks so incredibly lifelike that it's almost impossible to believe she's not a real person. But in a world where artificial intelligence continues to break boundaries, the line between what's real and what's not may become increasingly blurry, and that's where Saya comes in. Saya is what experts call a multimodal agent, equipped with state-of-the-art sensors and AI technology that can analyze various types of input data like images, voice, and movement. This cutting-edge system allows Saya to understand people's intentions and respond accordingly. It's all part of Japan's grand vision of Society 5.0, a concept that blurs the boundaries between cyberspace and the physical world, where everything that can run itself does.   You see, Society 5.0 builds upon the Fourth Industrial Revolution, a term coined by Germany to describe the integration of advanced ...

The Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ) is a public-private partnership established by the Japanese government in 2009 to promote innovation and the growth of the country's economy. INCJ operates with the goal of creating and supporting startups, new industries, and innovative technologies that can bring about sustainable economic development. INCJ is primarily funded by the Japanese government, which holds a majority stake in the organization, with contributions from private companies and financial institutions. The organization provides funding, management support, and business development expertise to startups and other companies with high growth potential.  Since its establishment, INCJ has invested in numerous projects across various ,  industries, from healthcare and biotechnology to renewable energy and robotics.  Here are some of the current projects funded by INCJ: 1.     Development of Solid-State Batteries INCJ has invested in the ...

Japan has been at the forefront of robotics research and development for decades, and one of the areas where it has sought to apply this technology is in elder care. The country has a rapidly aging population, with over a quarter of its citizens over the age of 65. The hope was that robots could help provide care for this growing demographic and alleviate the burden on human caregivers. However, Japan’s long experiment in automating elder care has not been as successful as many had hoped, and the failure of projects like Robear illustrate some of the challenges that still need to be overcome. Robear is a robot developed by the RIKEN-SRK Collaboration Center for Human-Interactive Robot Research in Japan. It was designed to be a friendly and versatile robot that could assist in the care of elderly and disabled people. Its appearance was inspired by a bear, with a round body and cuddly features that were meant to put patients at ease. However, despite its cute appearance, Robear has not b...